Pain in the thigh

Introduction

Pain in the thigh often occurs after sports injuries or overloading. The musculature of the thigh is strained in most sports and often has to withstand extreme loads such as abrupt stopping and acceleration. For this reason, injuries often occur in the thigh. In general, after a sports injury, the sporting strain should be stopped. Adequate first aid, which should be administered as soon as possible after the injury, can alleviate the symptoms and promote rapid healing, especially in the case of minor injuries.

Causes

There are various causes for pain in the thigh. The localization can give indications of this. For this reason, the most common causes are treated first and then the localization of the pain is discussed.

These are listed here:

• Overload through sports etc.
• Muscle Strain
• Torn muscle fibre
• Sore muscles
• Thigh contusion
• Herniated disc in the lumbar spine
• Entrapment of a nerve
• Inguinal Tunnel Syndrome
• Joint blockage of the sacroiliac joint
• Femur fracture
• Thrombosis
• Osteosarcoma

Especially inexperienced athletes often have pain in their thighs during or after training due to overloading of the muscles. This pain can also be delayed by a cramp. Untrained runners often overstrain their hamstring, which is the muscle group on the back of the thigh.

If pain occurs there while running or afterwards, stretching and strengthening exercises can be helpful and provide relief. Sports such as soccer often cause irritation of the adductor group, which is the muscles on the inner side of the thigh. The adductors are put under a lot of strain in many sports, but for many people they are poorly trained because they are hardly ever used in everyday life.

Pain in the inner side of the thigh can be an indication of overloading of the adductor group, which can manifest itself as tendonitis of the thigh. The outer side of the thigh can also be affected by pain resulting from overloading. The tractus iliotibialis with its exciting muscle is located on the outer side of the thigh.

It gives the hip its stability and enables the person to stand. Often asymmetrical loads such as standing at an angle, but also loads such as jumping are a trigger for tension and irritation, which are accompanied by pain on the outside of the thigh. The PECH rule gives a good guideline for action, PECH is an acronym which stands for: P- Pause E-Ice on C- Compression H- High bearing A strain often occurs when you suddenly make fast and powerful movements during sport without having warmed up properly or when you overstrain your muscles during sport and the tired muscles lack the strength to withstand the strain without damage.

The pain of a pulled muscle increases during the sporting effort, a burning sensation develops in the muscle, which is most noticeable in tension and pressure. At rest, one usually has no or very little pain. The strain of the back thigh is one of the most common sports injuries.

Other parts of the thigh can also be affected. For example, when shooting in soccer, when the front thigh muscles are quickly and severely tensed and subjected to high force, the front thigh muscles are pulled. A strain of the adductors on the inner side of the thigh is also common, as these muscles are often poorly trained and are subjected to a great deal of strain when taking all kinds of lunges.

If a pulled muscle has occurred, the athletic strain should be stopped immediately so that the muscle does not suffer any further damage. In the case of immediate first aid, the PECH rule should be followed in order to support the healing process. A pulled muscle usually heals after a few days.

During this time, the strain should not be high, but light exercise can promote healing. A rupture of a muscle fibre occurs when the individual muscle fibres can no longer withstand the pull exerted on the muscle and as a result they rupture.If you suffer a torn muscle fibre in your thigh during sports, you will usually feel a sudden stabbing pain during the strain. Here too, there is an increased risk when doing sports that, for example, put a lot of strain on the thigh muscles by stopping or accelerating.

A torn muscle fiber is accompanied by swelling and bruising over the affected muscle. A typical example is a rupture of the adductor muscle fibres as a typical soccer injury. If a torn muscle fiber tear has occurred in the thigh, the pain is very severe and normal movement is no longer possible.

As in the case of a pulled muscle, it is very important to interrupt the sporting activity immediately. Here too, the PECH rule can help to alleviate the symptoms and speed up the healing process. However, a torn muscle fiber is a more protracted injury and takes several weeks to heal.

It is important in this context to give the muscle sufficient time to regenerate completely so that problems do not recur. Torn muscle fibers heal with the formation of scars, which are potential weak points for new tears, so care should be taken to ensure that the affected muscles are always well warmed and strengthened. You will find detailed information on this topic at Torn muscle fibre in the thighPain in the thigh that does not appear until the day after the sporting activity can be due to a sore muscle.

Aching muscles often occur when you put a lot of strain on your body outside of your normal routine. It subsides after a few days and is not dangerous. The pain can be relieved by light massage or heat applications.

A contusion can also be the cause of pain in the thigh. It occurs when you receive a blow to the muscles. This is often the case on the front of the thigh during sports, as it can lead to violent collisions with obstacles or other players in the direction of movement.

A contusion is accompanied by a bruise. Unfortunately, bruises are quite persistent and it takes many weeks for the muscle to recover. Again, the PECH rule is a good guide immediately after the injury.

If a patient has suffered a herniated disc of the lumbar spine, it often manifests itself with severe pain in the thigh. In the case of a herniated disc, the affected disc presses on nerves in the spine, which are irritated. Due to this irritation, pain signals are transmitted to the brain.

The signal is interpreted as if the pain stimulus comes from the parts of the body that are supplied by the affected nerve. Although these body regions are biologically healthy, a very strong, often stabbing pain is perceived. If there is a herniated disc in the lumbar spine, nerves are trapped which supply the thigh sensitively and motorically.

If the pain is more localized in the front thigh, the lumbar spine segments three and four are affected; if the pain is more external or posterior, the underlying segments L4, L5 or S1 are affected. A slipped disc in the lumbar spine should always be diagnosed and treated by a physician. The physician chooses between a conservative therapy, which includes painkillers and physiotherapy, or the surgical approach.

If the pain in the thigh is associated with uncontrolled urination or defecation, a doctor should be consulted immediately, as these are signs of a herniated disc that pinches the nerves very severely and can even damage them. If you suspect a herniated disc as the cause of your pain in the thigh, we recommend the following topic: Herniated disc of the LWSBIn many clinical pictures that develop above the leg, nerves can be trapped, which then cause pain in the thigh. The pain is mostly stabbing or burning and can be accompanied by weakening of the muscles and sensitivity disorders.

Often the pain does not end in the thigh, but continues down the leg, in some cases even into the foot. Below are some causes of such pain caused by nerve entrapment. The Femoral Nerve sensitively innervates the skin of the front thigh.

If it is trapped, this area is subject to severe pain, which can be sharp or burning. Long periods of sitting, wearing tight pants or being overweight expose the groin region to increased pressure.Since the Femoral Nerve travels through the groin to reach its target region, this can lead to entrapment. In most cases, the symptoms can be easily combated by reducing these risk factors.

This topic may also be of interest to you: Burning on the thighOn the outer side of the thigh, the nervus cutaneus femoris lateralis takes over the innervation of the skin; it must also penetrate the groin region in order to reach the leg. Similar to the carpal tunnel syndrome in the hand, Inguinal tunnel syndrome is characterized by a constriction that irritates the nerve, causing burning and stabbing pain and discomfort in the front and outer thigh. Fortunately, these symptoms often disappear on their own, so that nothing else needs to be done except taking painkillers.

In the event of such a nerve entrapment, the risk factors described should of course be eliminated in order to achieve the fastest possible healing. If the pain persists, however, the nerve should be protected with medication, and in some cases an operation may even be necessary to relieve the affected nerve. If the sacroiliac joint, which connects the iliosacral bone in the pelvis to the ilium and sacrum, is blocked, pain will occur in the buttocks.

In the course of this, the gluteal muscles often tense up and press on the sciatic nerve. As a result, the pain radiates to the back of the thigh, and there may still be pain in the calf or foot. ISG blockages occur more frequently in women.

Acutely, painkillers such as Diclofenac or Ibuprofen should be taken in order to avoid a relieving posture and, in the course of this, further muscle tension. Massages and heat applications can also help to loosen the muscles and thus release the blockage. Manual therapeutic interventions are also possible.

If ISG blockages are more frequent, the gluteal muscles and the muscles of the back of the thigh should be strengthened. A fracture of the thigh (femur fracture) requires a very high level of force to be applied, such as is often the case in serious traffic accidents. If the thigh bone is broken, this is associated with very severe pain, the patient can neither bend nor stretch the knee or hip joint, sometimes a shortening of the leg can be observed due to a displaced fracture.

Such a fracture is also risky for surrounding nerves and vessels that can be destroyed, which is accompanied by paralysis or heavy bleeding. Femur fractures are usually treated surgically with an intramedullary nail. If a femur has been fractured without adequate force being applied, it is necessary to clarify whether bone metastases from cancer have occurred that have made the bone unstable.

A thrombosis can theoretically occur in all vessels of the body. However, the veins of the lower extremities, i.e. the veins of the legs and pelvis, are most frequently affected. The causes of deep vein thrombosis in the legs are a combination of various risk factors, such as taking the pill (see: Risk of thrombosis with the pill), smoking, pregnancy, tumor disease, a family predisposition to excessive clotting and above all a prolonged lack of exercise, for example after surgery, long journeys or after giving birth.

When a vein is closed, patients sometimes describe a pulling pain, but sometimes they are completely pain-free. More typical than thigh pain is calf pain, which can be intensified by pressure or movement of the foot. The diagnosis of a leg vein thrombosis can therefore not be made on the basis of pain.

More frequent symptoms are swelling, possibly in combination with a dull feeling of tension. In addition, the affected leg is warmer than the other leg. With the help of ultrasound (compression sonography), the doctor can assess the vein and determine whether thrombosis is present.

In addition to deep vein thromboses, there is also thrombophlebitis. This is an inflammation of the superficial veins, to which a clot can attach itself. Typically, one can see a reddened area that is significantly warmer than the rest of the tissue.

Arterial thromboses must be distinguished from venous thromboses. These occur as a result of degenerative damage such as occlusive arterial disease or inflammation in the arterial vascular system that supplies the leg with blood. If the whole vessel is acutely closed by a thrombus, suddenly severe pain occurs.The leg becomes cold and pale, loss of sensitivity or mobility occurs.

No pulse can be felt on the leg. An arterial vessel occlusion caused by a thrombus must be lifted immediately and, in an emergency, within a few hours. Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor of the bone, which can also grow in the thigh bone.

It causes very unspecific symptoms, often pain in the affected body part, but swelling can also occur. To find the diagnosis, an X-ray, possibly a CT and a tissue sample, which is examined under a microscope, are used. An osteosarcoma usually requires interdisciplinary treatment by specialists.